Mumbai: The ruling alliance of Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party-Nationalist Congress Party (AP) and seven other allies will hold a two-day convention here on August 31-September 1, party officials said here on Tuesday.
BJP Spokesperson Prasad Lad said that the meeting will be held at the NSCI complex in Worli to carry out a review of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections to the 48 seats in the state which will be contested by the alliance partners jointly.
Interestingly, the ruling allies’ poll meet will coincide with the upcoming National Opposition I.N.D.I.A. bloc’s meeting scheduled here on the same for two days.
The parties to attend the meet will be Shinde’s Shiv Sena, ruling allies Bharatiya Janata Party and Ajit Pawar’s breakaway Nationalist Congress Party, the NDA ally Republican Party of India (A) of Ramdas Athawale, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi led by Hitendra Thakur, Bachhu Kadu-led Prahar Janshakti Party, Prof. Jogendra Kawade-led People’s Republican Party, Sadabhau Khot’s Rayat Kranti Sangathana, Vinay Kore’s Jansurajya Party, and Mahadev Jankar-led Rashtriya Samaj Party.
The state meet will include a dinner hosted by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at his official residence on August 31 for all the elected leaders who will be present at the conclave.
“This joint meeting will assess and review the preparedness for the upcoming parliamentary elections… All MPs, MLAs, MLCs of the alliance partners, district party chiefs and other office-bearers shall attend,” said Lad.
On Friday, there will be a series of regional review meetings at the NSCI Dome which will be addressed by Shinde and Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, besides other senior leaders of the three parties and other allies and elected representatives from across the state.
The meetings will carry out a comprehensive analysis of the 48 parliamentary seats in Mumbai, Konkan, Marathwada, western and northern Maharashtra, the prospects of the three parties, the respective strengths and weaknesses of the allies vis-a-vis the Opposition parties, etc.
When asked why the meeting was being timed with the I.N.D.I.A., Shiv Sena’s Minister Uday Samant said that the ruling alliance meeting was pre-planned, and “perhaps they (the National Opposition Conclave) may have planned it like this”.
However, contrary to speculation in some quarters, alliance party sources rule out the possibility of any poll candidates being finalised at the two-day review meeting, though the issue of seat-sharing is likely to cause major headaches for the ruling partners.
–IANS
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